1. Field of the Invention
Disclosed embodiments of the invention generally relate to folding knives, and more particularly, to knives employing assisted-opening mechanisms.
2. Description of the Related Art
A folding knife typicality includes a blade and handle pivotably coupled to allow the blade to rotate, relative to the handle, between an open position, in which the blade extends from the handle, and a closed position, in which the blade is received in a corresponding recess in the handle. Such knives have enjoyed wide use for more than a hundred years due to their compactness, ease of handling, safety, and versatility.
The recent development of various assisted-opening mechanisms for folding knives has been extremely popular, perhaps in part because of the added utility such mechanisms provide, while maintaining a level of safety that is not found in knives such as automatic, or “switch-blade” knives.
An assisted-opening mechanism typically includes a bias member or mechanism configured to move the blade toward the open position after the blade is manually rotated from the closed position to beyond a selected threshold. However, while the blade is in the closed position, the bias member is generally configured to apply a reverse bias to the blade, tending to hold the blade in the closed position.
Examples of knives equipped with assisted-opening mechanisms may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,202; U.S. Pat. No. 6,338,431; U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/774,310; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/680,751, all of which are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.